Bicycling and Walking Around: The Candidates on Bike/Ped

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2012 at 4:45 PMOct 30, 2012 at 4:47 PM

A blog by Rachel Ruhlen

Rachel Ruhlen

At the Candidate’s Forum, I spoke to the candidates for state representative of 3rd District, Rebecca McClanahan and Nate Walker, about how they could support bicycling and walking in the state legislature. My conclusion is that both candidates have strong potential to be an ally for bicycling and walking.

Safe StreetsI asked each of them, “Would you be willing to sponsor a Safe Streets bill?”

Rebecca was enthusiastic about Safe Streets. Her background is nursing and her platform is education and health. Safe Streets fits right in with her focus on health. She would love to sign on to a Safe Streets bill.

Nate’s reaction was cooler. “Send me the bill, I’d have to read through it,” he said. He is interested in safety because he was Director of the Missouri Division of Highway Safety during the 1980’s. He rides his mountain bike on the Katy Trail and is a staunch supporter of FLATS, having donated at the highest “Trail Champion” level. His lack of enthusiasm for Safe Streets may reflect his preference for biking on trails and staying off roads.

MoDOT Funding CrisisI knew that both candidates had attended MoDOT hearings on the transportation funding crisis. I asked, “What are your thoughts on the MoDOT funding crisis?”

Rebecca’s initial reaction was that the education funding crisis is a greater need than transportation. She conceded that there is a need, but that funding for transportation must be balanced with funding for higher education, public education, and health care.

She doubted that a new tax would be favorably received, and suggested eliminating some of the unnecessary tax credits to raise additional revenue. She felt that the 1% sales tax Nate had proposed during the MoDOT hearings earlier this year was an unbalanced approach, leaving other important issues out in the cold. To be fair, for all that I’m a one-issue voter, I don’t want roads to be our only priority.

Nate did not propose a solution, but he believes that local control over roads is important. “Adair County can build bike lanes if they want,” he said. Personally, I’m not in favor of local government having a great deal of responsibility for their roads. They don’t want that responsibility, and they aren’t as well qualified to handle it as MoDOT. Decentralization would create inconsistency and confusion, and make it even harder to get bike/ped included.

Nate may be a bit more convinced that there is, in fact, a transportation funding crisis, but Rebecca has more realistic ideas.